19 couples have Valentine's Day weddings for free at Hennepin County courthouse

In a courthouse whose hallways are usually clogged by the remnants of human anger or idiocy, 19 couples vowed on Valentine's Day to try love and hope instead.

They got married.

In an hourlong string of ceremonies Thursday, Feb. 14, the couples took up the Fourth Judicial District's invitation to have judges marry them for free. As one judge played piano and another jurist sang, 11 other judges gathered waiting couples in front of them and began to marry them.

Some were young and had known each other only months. Some had known each other for decades, and their friends had stopped pestering them to just go ahead and get married already.

Some carried bouquets and looked as if they had stepped from the pages of Minnesota Bride magazine; some wore jeans and Nikes, their shirts untucked.

But a single, strong emotion had brought them to the fountain in the atrium of the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis: love.

"I'm marrying him because I love him," Holly Thomas of St. Louis said as she held hands with Miguel English, the St. Paul man who would become her husband in minutes.

Thomas' son, Michael Adair, 28, was a witness (each couple had to have two) whom Thomas and English brought along. He had left the house thinking they were headed to Perkins for breakfast.

"It's definitely different from Perkins," he said as he surveyed the couples, family members, friends and children who rapidly filled the atrium.

People cried. People laughed. Small children shrieked joyfully as they ran back and forth.

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In a courthouse where justice is defined by convictions or acquittals, winners and losers, there was happiness.

The weddings were the notion of Hennepin County District Judge William Koch, who thought it a good way to celebrate Valentine's Day.

"It just seemed like something we ought to be doing," Koch said.

The weddings started a little after noon, as District Judge Laurie Miller sat down at the piano and her colleague, District Judge Ivy Bernhardson, began to sing "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?"

Eleven judges lined up around the fountain, and couples gathered around them.

Couples had to show their marriage licenses and IDs when they first arrived, but the judges still looked over the paperwork to make sure all was in order. As one couple stood waiting in front of her, District Judge Kerry Meyer sat by the fountain, her pen nestled sideways between her lips as she leafed through the papers to make sure everything was there and every signature was in the right place.

Moments later, she was marrying Richard Hagberg, 65, a retired TV producer from Anoka, and his partner of 20 years, Angie, 42.

Meyer read the ceremony the couple had chosen (couples had a selection of six), and as she neared the conclusion she said, "By the power vested in me by the state of Minnesota ..."

At that instant, the couple embraced and kissed.

"Way to jump to the end," Meyer said, laughing.

Obinna Alachedo, 38, of Richfield and Amalija Jupic, 30, who is from Bosnia, were among those in line waiting. He's a machinist and she is a nanny; they've known each other for two years.

"We love each other and want to get married," said Alachedo, who was dressed in a suit. The bride wore a white, floor-length wedding gown and carried a bouquet.

"I wanted my wedding to be something special," Jupic said. "I wanted to do it before summer, and what is better than Valentine's Day?"

Todd Williams, 39, of Eden Prairie and Liz Anderson, 33, of Plymouth decided to get married after Williams saw a story about the ceremonies. They've known each other for nine years.

"It kind of seemed romantic and spur-of-the-moment, and we said, 'Why not?' " Anderson said. Both asked for the day off (she works in environmental compliance, he works for Home Depot) and brought friends and family to the courthouse.

"It's about time," Williams said of the decision to get married. "I was going to be with her forever, and this week seemed like a good week."

Miller, whose mother was a church organist "and played a million weddings," picked the music. She played such wedding-day standards as "As Time Goes By," "Lara's Theme," the theme from "Romeo and Juliet" and "Our Love is Here to Stay."

"We have to have a Gershwin tune," Miller said of the last piece.

Victorio Pacheco, 23, and his new bride, Lorraine Pacheco, 25, sat next to the fountain moments after they exchanged vows. They've known each other for nearly a decade and got serious two years ago. When they heard about the ceremonies, they thought it was a good reason to get married.

Victorio said getting married on a day devoted to love made sense.

"We'd kind of like to celebrate our anniversary and Valentine's Day at the same time," he said. "I won't be able to forget it."